“This really is going to be the best thing ever,” Teresa said.
“Girl, are you crazy? Hello, we are leaving all our friends and stuff behind! I don’t care about what I said back then, I am not leaving my home!”
I jumped up off my bed and went to stand by the window. I looked outside at the tree house our dad had built for us six years ago when we were eight years old. Really it was an old shed that he painted red and pink. However, everyone referred to it as a tree house. He put carpet and pink chairs inside to make it comfy. We even had a TV in there. The tree house was the spot everyone came to sit, chat, and sometimes gossip about what was going on. I didn’t want to leave any of those memories behind.
Tears began to pour down my face. Teresa, walked over to me and eased her arm around my waist. I placed my head on my twin’s shoulder.
“It will be all right,” Teresa said. “We have each other. Besides, we will have new friends and new places to explore.”
I stopped crying and looked at my sister. “I don’t want new friends and places. I want to keep what we have.”
Before Teresa could comment, our mother called us downstairs.
“Go put some water on your face. I will go downstairs and tell them you are coming down in a few minutes,” Teresa said.
I nodded. Teresa gave me a sympathetic look and slowly walked out the door.
I didn’t move at first. I continued looking out of the window. I was trying to adjust to the fact that I would have a new place to call home.
Finally, I made my way downstairs. I could hear the mumbled voices in the background. I recognized most of the voices. However, there were a couple that sounded unfamiliar to me. When I made it to the final step, I peeked around the corner. Someone was sitting on my grandmother’s favorite coral wingback chair. My grandmother hardly let anyone ever sit in that chair, which belonged to her mother. It was the only keepsake Grandma had of her mom. Therefore, it was very special to the entire family. That meant that whoever was sitting in that chair had to be pretty important.
I eased into the room and exchanged glances with my sister. Teresa had this look on her face that was unreadable to most people. However, I knew that look meant that my twin sister did not like what she was hearing.
“There you are. We were wondering what was keeping you,” Dad said in a cheerful voice.
I politely smiled and took a seat beside my sister on the sofa. My eyes darted over to the strangers in the living room. The man had fine gray hairs around his bald spot. He wore thick glasses that made his eyes look like a huge red moon. He also wore too much cologne. Whew! He had the living room lit up like the perfume part of Macy’s. The woman beside him wore this big Kool-Aid smile. She had on a red dress with blue flowers. Her dress was loud enough for my friends to hear her across the street.
“I have heard so many wonderful things about you, young lady,” said the balding man.
The lady with the loud dress just kept smiling.
“Your parents tell me that you are the captain of the church praise dance team and worship leader for the youth. That is wonderful! I love to see our youth active in church,” the man continued.
I just continued to stare at him. My sister elbowed me, so I managed to say, “Thank you.”
My mother jumped into the conversation. “Vanessa, this is Deacon and Deaconess White. They are members of the church your daddy will be pastoring.”
Now everything made sense. I guess these two were the welcome wagon. They probably wanted to meet the new PK kids before they arrived in town. Teresa and I did not go with our parents the few times dad preached at Sunny Side Baptist Church. We stayed at home with Grandma.
Dad said, “They drove two hours to share the good news with us.”
I looked around and noticed that everyone was grinning from ear to ear, except Teresa. She was looking at her blue and pink Toms and biting her bottom lip. She always bit her lips when she was nervous or upset. So I knew that this was not a good sign.
“The church wants me to start my ministry a little earlier than expected. They want us to leave in two weeks instead of two months.”
My heart felt like it was dropping to the floor. I felt the familiar tears stinging my eyes. Why was this happening to me? This was supposed to be the perfect summer for me. My youth ministry was traveling to Carowins to see my favorite gospel artist at Joyfest. Teresa and I were also going to the STEM conference for girls. Plus, we were going to hang with our friends and go shopping.
I finally found my voice. “But we already have big plans for this summer! We can’t leave in two weeks!”
Everyone turned and looked at me. Mom’s caramel colored faced turned beet red. Grandma was shaking her head and Teresa was jabbing me in the side. However, I did not care about any of that at this moment. I had to get them to understand that we could not leave this early.
“Vanessa, that is enough,” my dad snapped. “We are leaving in two weeks. The Lord’s plans are bigger than our plans. We are moving to do His work. I know that you two have made plans for the summer, but we have to be obedient to God’s plan for our lives. I accepted this position but God called me to this position to help His people.”
Dad’s tone was that no-nonsense, don’t-you-say-another word voice. I just wiped my face and decided not to say another word.
“I am sure you two will find a lot of friends and activities to do at your new home,” Deaconess White said.
Deacon White nodded his balding head in agreement.
“Girls, why don’t you two go back upstairs? I will call you down when dinner is ready,” Grandma said with sympathy in her eyes.
Teresa grabbed my hand. Together we went back to our room.
Once in the room, I fell on my bed and started to cry again. Teresa laid across my back. Soon I felt her tears on my back.
Slowly our bedroom door opened. We turned to see our mom. She walked over to the bed and hugged us.
“Girls, I know this is hard on both of you. I know you both have made plans for your summer. But this ministry is very important to your dad. He always goes out of his way to help everyone. Now, it is our time to go out of our way to help him.”
We both sat up to look at Mom. Deep in my heart I knew she was telling the truth. However, I was not interested in the truth at this moment. I just wanted to keep my friends and the plans I had.
“I need both of you to try to be as understanding as possible about this new move. Your dad deserves this new opportunity,” Mom said.
Teresa was the first to speak. “Mom, we will help in any way we can. Isn’t that right, Vanessa?”
Both of them looked at me with worried expressions on their faces.
I didn’t want to leave my home. But I also did not want to disappoint my family.
“I guess the move is okay,” I reluctantly said. “I know daddy deserves this chance. I will try to have a better attitude about this whole thing.”
Mom bent down to give each of us a kiss on the head.
“I am so proud of both of you. You two are going to love our new church family,” she said with excitement. “Grandma is cooking her world famous lasagna and peach cobbler. That should cheer both of you up. Freshen up and come back downstairs. Dinner should be ready in a few minutes. I want you girls to show the Whites the good manners your father and I have taught you.”
She winked at us and walked out of our bedroom door.
“Well, I guess that settles that,” Teresa said. “Nessa, we really do need to make this work for Dad. He has his heart set on this. He is a good person. We owe this to him.”
Everyone always thought I was the stronger twin because I had the bigger mouth. But actually Teresa was the strongest one. She always had a way of making me do and see things her way.
“I know that you’re right, Teresa,” I said in low reluctant mumble.
“Good! Now come on and let’s get downstairs before your new deacon and deaconess eat up all of Grandma’s peach cobbler,�
�� Teresa said with a playful smile.
She pulled me off the bed and pushed me out of the door. I glanced back at our room. Thinking about my new, even bigger room made me smile. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Chapter 2
Vanessa
The following weekend, my parents went to our new town to visit with some of the church and community leaders. Deacon and Deaconess White had arranged for my dad to meet the mayor, school leaders, and several business owners. My mom and dad called and told us how they were impressed with the people in the town in Springfield, Virginia. They said that the people were friendly and seemed really concerned about the welfare of the residents in the town. A few people had already asked Dad to sit in on meetings and become part of different boards. This made my dad really happy and my mom real proud.
Mom also wanted to decorate our new home before we arrived. She said that once our feet hit the floor, she wanted us to feel at home. She wouldn’t tell us everything she was doing to our rooms, but she did state that we would really like her decorating. My mom was always thoughtful like that.
I imagined what our new house would look like. A gigantic mansion with a butler and maid at my disposal. I would also have my own room and bathroom. I wouldn’t have to keep my diary so guarded from my nosey sister.
I would have a huge pool and built-in waterfall in the backyard. Mom and Dad said we could invite over some of our old friends to visit us. I was going to impress them with my new lifestyle. Yep, Teresa and I were going to be the superstars of our group.
***
Those thoughts filled my head as we pulled off the highway heading to our new home. I saw Dad squeeze my mom’s hand.
“We are almost there,” he said, before looking up at us in the rear view mirror. “I can’t wait for you girls to see your new home. Your mom put a lot of time and effort in making sure everything is just like you girls and your grandma would like.”
Grandma was grinning from ear to ear. I heard her tell all of her friends, before we left, how proud she was of our dad. She was grateful to have a son that always took care of his family and community. Often, she would share with us scrapbooks of him winning awards and speaking in public places when he was a youth. She stated that his father would be so proud of the man he is now.
I was still upset about leaving my friends, but the thought of living in a big fancy house made me feel better.
My thoughts returned to anticipating what our new place would like. I imagined a huge walk-in closet that would fit all of my designer clothes, shoes, and handbags.
“This is our neighborhood,” my dad said.
Teresa and I looked at each other with huge Kool-Aid grins.
“Vanessa, I told you this move wouldn’t be so bad,” Teresa said.
“Maybe, you are right,” I said.
Dad had moved off the highway into a small neighborhood. The houses were okay. But they were not the ‘bam’ I was looking for.
As if she was reading my mind, Teresa said, “Our house must be behind this subdivision.”
I nodded in agreement. We saw a few children playing in a small park. A few people waved as we drove by. I noticed the car started moving slower and slower. Suddenly, the car stopped in front of a medium sized house that had half brick and half beige siding.
Teresa and I looked at each other, then we looked at the house.
“Well, we are here. Welcome to your new home!” Daddy shouted.
Lord, I know Nick Cannon is pulling a joke on me. There is no way this house could be my mansion.
Grandma and Mom hurriedly got out of the truck. Teresa and I stayed stuck in our seats. A few of the neighbors came over to say hello and officially welcome us. I’d heard Dad say they’d met a few of the neighbors already, but there were still a few he’d yet to meet.
“I can’t believe this! I thought we would be living it up. Instead we are living in a house smaller than the one we had at home,” Teresa whined.
I looked at her with a confused look on my face. She was usually the voice of reason. If she was mad, this situation was really out of hand.
“Wait a minute. I thought you were the one who wanted to help Dad and the community. Blah, blah, blah. You didn’t care about the money and the house.”
“Stupid, of course I care! Maybe not as much as you, but I still care. Man, what a rip off!” she complained.
“Girls, get out of that car and meet our new neighbors,” Grandma said.
Teresa and I got out of the car looking like deer caught in headlights.
Momma introduced us to several people. While they were chatting, I was busy taking in the scene. There were several girls who looked to be around our age staring at us from across the street. A couple of them waved. We waved back. There were boys playing basketball at the end of the cul-de-sac. I guess this was the closest I would get to a baller life.
Man, this was horrible!
“Girls, your dad can stay out here talking all day. Let me take you inside your house and show you around,” Mom said.
We walked into our new home. I immediately noticed the differences in this house and our old home. The living room was noticeably different in size. Our old living room was much bigger. In addition, I could tell that the eat-in kitchen had dated appliances.
Mom stood in the middle of the living room with that big old crazy grin on her face.
“Girls, what do you think? I spent several days decorating and moving some of the old stuff out. We are leasing the house from a church member. They were nice enough to accommodate us on such short notice. Come on, let me to take you to your room.”
My heart skipped a beat. Did she just say room? As in one room. I could’ve sworn she said she was decorating our rooms, with an s. Obviously, I was wrong. Could this day get any worse?
She opened the door to a smaller version of our old room. The twin beds were so close, we’d be able to hold hands while we slept. There was little space for our desk and lounge chairs. I moved to the closet, which could barely contain one set of our clothes.
Teresa plopped down on her bed.
“How do you girls like your room?” she asked.
Neither one of us said a word.
Mom looked at us with disappointment in her eyes. She walked over to the window facing the backyard. “I thought we could perhaps put up a tree house for you girls to have in the backyard.”
“It probably will have more room than this cramped old house,” I mumbled under my breath.
Mom looked at both of us. Her eyes were full of pain. She picked up her pocketbook and walked out the room.
“This sucks,” me and Teresa said at the same time.
“I thought having a daddy that is a pastor would have its perks. We are living in a smaller house with no friends,” I said.
“I want to go back home. This place is whack,” Teresa pouted.
“Wait, I just thought of something. We can ask Jasmine’s mom if we can stay with them this summer,” I said.
“Oooh, yes that would be cool. That way we can go to Joyfest and hang out with our friends. Let’s do that,” Teresa said.
“I don’t think so,” a deep voice said.
We turned around to see our dad enter the room. He had a mad look on his face.
“I never thought I would have such ungrateful brats living in my house. Your mom has worked her butt off to make sure you two would be comfortable when you arrived. Not only did you not say thank you, you two did not even have the decency to lie to the woman and tell her you liked the room. No, you two acted like spoiled brats. Well, play time is over. The church is in need of volunteers for the seven-year-old summer camp and you two just volunteered.”
“But Dad, we don’t know those kids,” Teresa said.
“You will get to know them. It is time you think about somebody other than yourselves.”
He stormed out the door and did not look back.
“I guess we really are stuck,” Teresa said.
“You can say that again,” I added.
Chapter 3
Teresa
My sister was usually the complainer, but I’d definitely taken over that role.
“Ugh, this is going to be boring. First, we move, now we have to do this camp,” I groaned.
“Stop complaining,” Vanessa said. “I don’t want to do this either, but you don’t see me over here whining like a baby.”
She stomped into the bathroom to finish getting ready. We’d been snapping at each other since we arrived here three days ago. I think neither of us were happy and could only take it out on each other.
My dad stuck his head into our room.
“Girls, make sure you are ready for the ride,” he said.
My hand immediately went to my tummy. “Daddy, my stomach hurts and I don’t think I should go riding on the highway. I –”
Before I could finish my sentence, Dad interrupted me and said, “Before this lie keeps going, get your sister, and tell her we are about to leave in two minutes.”
I groaned and stood to go tap on the bathroom door. The shower was running, which meant Vanessa probably couldn’t hear me.
I turned to go lay back across the bed until she finished, when I spotted her diary on the floor. My sister was crazy about that diary. She never let me see it. That’s why I couldn’t believe she’d just carelessly left it laying around.
I listened to make sure the water was still going, then reached down and swooped up the diary. I tried to open it, but it was locked tight. I decided to put the diary in my pillow case and take the pillow with me.
A few minutes later, Vanessa emerged from the bathroom completely dressed.
“I was just about to come get you. Dad said hurry up.”
“Man. I don’t want to go,” Vanessa said. “I am going to stay here with Grandma.”
“I don’t think so. If I have to go, you have to go.”
We dragged ourselves out to the car. Inside, we popped a movie in since it was going to take us an hour to get to the camp.
The ride didn’t feel as long as I thought it would. The person who managed the camp grounds welcomed us all, and showed us to where we would be staying. It was a wooded area, with log cabins.
The Perfect Summer Page 3
